Militia fighters down Ukrainian helicopter as air strikes continue in Sloviansk

On Tuesday, June 3, people’s militia in the city of Sloviansk, east Ukraine’s Donetsk Region, have downed a fighter plane Su-25 and a Ukrainian helicopter gunship as well as four armored personnel carriers (APC)

Ukraine's military has amassed armored vehicles and self-propelled mortars and howitzers near the town of Sloviansk, Stella Khorosheva, spokeswoman for the Sloviansk people's mayor, told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian fighters and helicopter gunships delivered at least five strikes at Semyonovka and the village of Cherevkovka.

After a relatively calm night, the Ukrainian military resumed shelling the town, with artillery guns firing at one- to two-minute intervals.

Fierce fighting between people's militia and Ukrainian servicemen around Sloviansk continued throughout Tuesday. Ukraine’s National Guard began to shell Slavyansk approximately at 06.00 am local time, and attack aircraft fired at the nearby settlements of Semyonovka and Cherevkovka.